Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday.

VZ has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Thursday, reaching $39.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,589,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,183,934. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42. The company has a market cap of $164.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 16,143 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 59,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,868 shares during the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 43,782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC now owns 27,923 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,172,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).